Keep holding on
by Morbidmuch
Summary: Set tree years before the series. When Reid went undercover as a high school student, he never imagined he'd meet the girl of his dreams. ReidOFC
1. Prologue

A/N: This is the first chapter of my new story. The next chapter will be up tomorrow or the day after that, it depends. All kinds of feedback is highly appreciated, but no flames please.

Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds, only the original characters.

* * *

**Keep holding on**

Prologue

"See you guys Monday!" Reid called out as he walked towards the exit on Friday evening.

"Bye Reid," Morgan replied, his eyes not once leaving the report he was writing.

"Bye Spence, have a nice weekend," JJ called back, and kept her eyes on the young agent's back until he had completely disappeared from her vision. She had only been working at the BAU for two months, but had taken a liking to the young genius. He was like a baby brother.

"There's nothing like writing reports on a Friday night," Morgan sighed, and JJ agreed.

As she walked to her desk, JJ spotted something out of the corner of her eye that made her stop. She walked over to Reid's desk and picked up a framed photograph. It was a picture stripe, like the ones you get in a phone booth. In the first picture, Reid and a girl with long scraggly long red hair was laughing at the camera. By their positions JJ came to the conclusion that the girl was sitting sideways in Reid's lap, her arms around his neck and his around her waist. The second picture was like the first, except that Reid was now kissing the girl's cheek. In the third, the couple was looking at each other, now with serious looks on their faces, and in the fourth they were kissing like sweethearts.

"What are you doing?" Morgan asked, standing up and walking over to JJ.

"Who's this?" JJ held up the picture, and Morgan took it from her and looked at it.

"That's Anna,"

"I didn't know that Reid had a girlfriend,"

"Well...she isn't exactly his girlfriend,"

JJ raised an eyebrow. "Care to explain?"

"It's a long story," Morgan said, and sat down on the desk.

"I've got time," JJ persisted.

Morgan sighed before answering. "It started almost a year ago, in September. We had a case in Meridian, Mississippi; two students had been killed at a private high school. The school board didn't want any media or attention drawn to the murders, so Hotch suggested that someone would go undercover,"

"Reid?"

Morgan nodded. "He's the only one young enough to pass as a high school student, since he's only 21. Hotch weren't sure first about letting Reid go undercover, he'd only worked here for a few months." he paused. "Reid was working undercover for nearly all the school year before we caught the unsub. The janitor, if my memory's not failing me. It took three more victims before we caught him."

"What does that have to do with the picture?" JJ inquired to know.

"Be patient, it's a long story. Anyway, while he was there, he made friends with a senior girl called Anna Marshall. They became friends, and then Reid started to fall for her big time. But she didn't know him as Spencer Reid, but as Ryan Becker. She fell for him too, hard,"

"It must have been devastating for her to learn that he wasn't who she thought he was," JJ said, feeling sympathy for both the girl and Reid.

Morgan nodded. "I was there when she found out. Anna was crying, and Reid looked like he was about to cry too. They argued, she slapped him and then ran off,"

"And they haven't talked since?"

"Yes they have. Reid visited her a few days later, before we went back here. They agreed that they would take it slow until she graduated."

"When does she graduate?"

"Next weekend,"

"What's she like?" JJ was intrigued by Anna, and her relationship with Reid. It was difficult for her to picture him in a relationship, his character so far had let her know that he was very self-conscious around women.

"She's a bit like Garcia, very straightforward. If you do something that she doesn't like she'll tell you right away. I never would have guessed that she and Reid were gonna hit it off, but they did,"

"I admit, it is pretty weird thinking about Reid in a relationship," JJ confessed.

Morgan agreed, and the two agents sat in silence until a door opened and Garcia stuck her head out.

"You talking about me babycake?"

Morgan laughed. "I was telling JJ about Anna."

Garcia smiled and walked down to join the other agents. "I like Anna, she's sweet."

JJ frowned. "Wait, you know her as well?"

Garcia nodded. "I started working here in January, right in the middle of Reid's undercover work. Reid was wearing a pin with a hidden camera in it, so I saw what he saw." She paused. "Well, until he decided to shut the damn thing off as soon as he was around Anna."

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Like it? Love it? Loathe it? Let me know :)


	2. Chapter 1

A/N: Okay, so this is the new chapter :) Pictures of Anna's hair and Prom attire are available on my profile.

Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds, only my original characters.

* * *

**Keep holding on**

**Chapter 1**

"This will have to do," Reid mumbled to himself as he stood in front of the mirror in his hotel room. He was on the verge of becoming late, so he was a bit stressed out. He straightened out the collar on his black tuxedo jacket and tucked back a piece of hair that wouldn't lie flat. His gun and badge had been left at home, Hotch had advised him not to bring them. Grabbing the car keys from the dresser he went out the door, his eyes the evidence of the nervous state he was in. As he got into the car and drove over to Anna's house, he thought back on when she'd asked him to go with her.

_Flashback_

"_So, are you doing anything next weekend?" Anna asked, her voice having her usual tone of not caring, and he could hear her twist the phone chord between her fingers._

"_Uh, I don't think so. Why?" Reid replied, looking over at the clock. 4.30._

"_Well, next weekend is prom. And I wondered if you wanted to go with me?"_

_Reid was stunned. "I thought you didn't want to go?"_

_She laughed. "Well, at first I didn't. Then, I came to think about the fact that I'd probably go with you. So...what do you say?"_

_He hesitated. __"I don't know; my high school years weren't the best, you know,"_

_He could hear her sigh. "I'm not gonna force you, but I'd really like to go with you."_

_Reid hesitated for a second before making his choice. Morgan always told him to get out more, live a little. "You know what? I'll go with you."_

_She squealed. "Great. You're gonna flip when you see my dress."_

_Reid could hear something in the background, and Anna saying something to someone._

"_Spence? I've gotta go, dad is taking us out to dinner. I'll call you tomorrow to fill you in, okay?"_

"_Okay, love you. Bye__" he was about to hang up, when her voice stopped him._

"_Spence?"_

"_Yeah?"_

_He could hear the smile in her voice. "Love you too. Bye," _

_Reid hung up, a silly grin on his face. Things were going great._

_End Flashback._

As he he parked the car in the driveway, he looked up at the big house. He'd only seen a house this big once before, on a case. The big three story house in a Tudor style was very impressive, and Reid felt a bit insignificant. He brushed of an imaginary lint on his sleeve, and walked up to the house.

Only a few seconds after he'd rung the doorbell, the door opened and a woman in her 40s with blonde hair and warm grey eyes appeared. This was Anna's mom.

"Hi Mrs Marshall, I'm uh, Spencer Reid and I'm here to pick up Anna," Reid said, discretely wiping off his sweaty palms on his pants.

She smiled, Anna got her smile from her Reid noticed. "Spencer, hi. Anna said that you were coming. Come in, please."

Reid followed her into the house and to a large sitting room with antique furniture and a Victorian feel to it.

"Please sit down, Anna will be down any minute now. Can I get you anything to drink?"

Reid smiled and shook his head. "No thank you Mrs Marshall, that won't be necessary."

"Oh, you can call me Amanda," She smiled and walked out of the room, her heels clicking against the hardwood floor. Reid looked around, admiring the paintings.

"Those are genuine, you know," Reid spun around, and came face to face with a man Reid assumed to be Anna's dad.

"They're beautiful," Reid replied, and Anna's dad stepped into the room.

"So is my daughter,"

Uh-oh. Reid knew that this moment would come. The dad trying to scare his daughter's date.

"I'm aware of that, sir," Damn, this man made Reid more nervous that some of the most vicious criminals he'd ever come across.

"How old are you?"

"21, sir,"

"You go to college here?"

Neither one of Anna's parents knew how Reid and Anna had met, and Reid feared how he would explain this. "No, sir. I work with the Behaviour Analyses Unit for the FBI at Quantico,"

"Aren't you a bit young to be an FBI agent?"

"Uh, I have three Ph.D's, an eidetic memory and an IQ of 187," Reid replied, astonished by his new found bravery.

Anna's dad eyed him. "And what makes you think you're good enough for my daughter,"

"Harold, for God's sake don't scare the boy,"

Reid was relieved when he heard Mrs. Marshall enter the room.

"Anna will be down in a minute, dear,"

"I'm already here,"

Reid looked past Mrs. Marshall, and the sight of Anna made his breath hitch in his throat. She was wearing a sweetheart black corset and a ruched black full length skirt. She had on black opera gloves and a black mini top hat with a fishnet veil was sitting on top of her hair. Her green eyes were surrounded with smokey eyeshadow, and a smile was on her lips.

"Hi Spence," she said and walked into the room. Her heels clicked against the floor, and she gave Reid a kiss.

"Anna, wow, you look amazing,"

"Thanks, you do too,"

"You look so beautiful," Mrs. Marshall said, wiping away tears, and Anna rolled her eyes.

"Mom!" Anna complained, and her mother laughed.

"I'm sorry, but I have to take some pictures of you,"

Reid smiled and Anna chuckled before they posed for the pictures.

"That's gotta be enough mom," Anna said after about 15 pictures. "We're gonna be late."


	3. Chapter 2

A/N: Chapter 2, coming out a day early. Hope you enjoy it, and keep the review coming :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds, only my original characters

* * *

**Keep holding on**

**Chapter 2**

"Dinner was delicious," Anna said as she and Reid walked out from the small Italian restaurant where they had eaten dinner.

"Yes, it was," Reid replied and led them towards the car.

"You know what Spence? I'm glad I'm going with you," she said when they were seated, and Reid laughed.

"Well, I hope so,"

Anna laughed too. "I'm serious. I know how much you despised your own high school years, so it's really cool that you wanted to go with me,"

Reid started the car as he talked. "Off course I wanted to go with you. I love you, remember?"

"That you do. I love you too," she gave him a wicked grin. "Besides, I'm gonna have the hottest date,"

"I know it's gonna be totally lame, so we can leave anytime you want," Anna said as they stood outside her school.

"You're not getting out this that easy," Reid laughed. It was a bit funny how at ease he was with Anna. With every other woman he had ever met, including Garcia and JJ, he was super awkward. Not with Anna though. She was full of energy, a whirlwind, keeping him constantly on his toes.

"I'm not trying to," Anna replied, giving him a million dollar smile. She was so lucky to have found him. Ever since the first time she met him, she had been stunned by how smart, gentle and soft he was. He was like the total opposite from her, which worked great. Anna remembered fondly the stolen moments in deserted hallways, before she knew his real identity.

"Let's go," Reid said, hooked her arm in his and then led her inside the school. He hadn't been there for over a month, but he still remembered every hallway, every bend of the school. That was what you had to live with when you had an eidetic memory.

"Remember the utility closet?" Anna said with a smirk, and Reid chuckled.

"Yes I do. I'm glad that that teacher didn't expel us. Or you, more like,"

"Yeah, that would have been bad,"

They were now at the gym hall, and Reid looked around. The place looked totally different. A band was playing on a makeshift stage, red velvet curtains hung everywhere, and on one wall hung pictures of everyone in the graduating class. Each photo was done in a portrait style, had a gold frame, and below the picture was the name of the student.

Reid and Anna walked over to them, and it didn't take Reid long to find Anna, she stood out with her bright red hair. In the picture, she was holding up her hands by her face in the classical rock 'n' roll sign, so that the viewer could see what she had written on her forearms. On the left one the word 'GEEK' was written with capital letters, and one right one the word 'LOVE' was written.

"Geek Love?" Reid laughed. "I don't suppose that I have something to do with that,"

"You know me too well, Dr. Reid. I got that idea after talking to a girl in my science class. She's totally cool, but still a geek, and her boyfriend is like that too. We were comparing our boyfriends, coming up with arguments on who was the better geek,"

"And I won? I'm honoured," Reid teased.

"She totally thought she was winning, until I brought out my last argument. 'Erica', I said. 'Your geek may be cool, but my geek carries a gun'. Cool, huh?"

Reid laughed. "Yeah, cool. Now let's go meet your friends and do what you're supposed to do at a Prom,"

Anna laughed, and let him lead her to where the punch was. As they went, Reid got the feeling that people were looking at them and whispering, but blamed it on his own self-consciousness in school elements. Whenever he could, he stole a glance over at Anna. She really did look amazing.

"Anna!" Came a cry over from the dance floor, and both Anna and Reid turned to look in that direction. A short girl with curly brown hair, black rimmed glasses and a bright green dress was walking towards them dragging a guy with longish messy brown hair and glasses behind her.

"Erica!" Anna said, and hugged her friend when she came close enough. "Love your hair."

"Love your dress," Erica replied, then looked at Reid. "And your date, I swear if I didn't have Joachim..." she left the rest unsaid, but Reid could pretty much guess what she meant.

"Thanks alot Eri," her boyfriend, Joachim, said, and Erica turned to look at him.

"Sorry Kim," she turned back to Anna and Reid. "So this is your geek?"

This was the girl Anna had been talking about, Reid gathered.

Anna smiled proudly. "Yes, this is my gun carrying geek. Reid, this is Erica and Joachim. Her geek,"

"Nice to meet you," Joachim said and shook Reid's hand. "Have we met before? I feel like I've seen you somewhere,"

"Yeah, I worked undercover here not long ago. I work for the FBI,"

Erica's brown eyes lit up. "FBI? That's so cool,"

Anna, who sensed that Erica was gonna start rambling about something, grabbed Reid's hand tighter. "We were gonna go out dancing. See you later." Anna siad and then dragged Reid off to the dance floor.

"Sorry," Anna said when they were there, and a slow song started to play. "For Erica, I mean. She's my friend and all, but she can be a PITA sometimes,"

Reid frowned. "PITA?"

She chuckled. "Pain in the ass. Me and a friend came up with that when we were younger so that we could swear in our parents presence."

"You were a villain, I take it,"

"Oh yeah," Anna said and put her arms up around Reid's neck, effectively bringing them closer together.

The next couple of hours were spent dancing, talking to Anna's friends, and generally having a good time. For Reid, this was one of the first times he could say that he had enjoyed something the school had organized. When the time came to crown the king and queen, Anna didn't seem to surprised when two people called Celia and Gabriel won. Celia was the head cheerleader and the queen of the school, Anna informed Reid, and Gabriel was the star quarterback.

"You wanna get out of here?" she whispered in his ear when they were dancing to yet another slow song, and Reid nodded.

"Sure,"


	4. Chapter 3

A/N: Okay, so this is chapter 3...sorry I didn't post it yesterday, but something bad happened to me and I was at the hospital. Anyway, enjoy :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds, only my original characters.

* * *

**Keep holding on**

**Chapter 3**

"Morning Spence," JJ said as the young genius walked through the glass doors on Morning morning.

"Morning JJ," he replied, took a sip of his coffee and putting down his messenger bag on the floor next to him. "Do we have a new case?" he had gotten back from Meridian the night before, and was eager to do some fieldwork.

JJ shook her head. "No, we had a bad one Saturday, we just got back a few hours ago so Hotch got us some time off. No more cases until Friday."

Reid sighed. "Great. More time off,"

"Hey man, how was Anna?" Morgan said as he walked by Reid's desk on the way to his own, and Reid smiled at the mentioning of his girlfriend.

"She was great,"

"You got any pictures?" JJ asked, curious, and Reid nodded.

"Yes, in fact I do. Anna's older brother has his own dark room, so he developed the pictures before I left," Reid replied and reached into his messenger bag after the pictures. It was the pictures that Anna's mother had taken before they left, and Reid smiled when he saw Anna's 2D smile.

Morgan looked at the picture and whistled low. "Damn, Anna looks amazing,"

JJ looked at the picture over Morgan's shoulder, and then looked up at Reid. "You look great too, Spence,"

Reid gave a small smile. "Thanks. I'm really lucky to have met Anna,"

"How did you meet exactly? I know about the case, but not about the actual meeintg her," JJ asked, and Reid tucked back a piece of hair.

"Well, it was my second day..."

_Flashback_

_Reid walked slowly through the hallway, not in a hurry to go to his next class. __Just when he rounded a corner, he ran into someone he didn't want to meet. Keith Summers, the worst bully in the school. Reid had met him last night, and had nearly gotten beat up. Now, he walked as fast as he could, hoping that Keith wouldn't notice him. But, as usual, Reid had no such luck._

"_Hey, new guy. Come here for a sec," _

_Reid felt cold, hard fear run through him. Despite that it had been nearly 10 years since he graduated and he was an FBI agent, he was still terrified of this guy._

"_W-what d-do you want, Keith?" He said, hating himself for stuttering. _

_One of Keith's friends gave Reid a push, causing him to drop his books. The torture of the words and getting pushed continued for a few more minutes, and Reid felt himself getting closer and closer to tears. It was Alexa Lisbane all over again, him begging for people to help him although no one did. Then, a female voice was heard._

"_Keith, what the fuck do you think you're doing?" _

_Reid looked up, along with everybody else, to see a girl standing there, hands on her hips. She had bright red hair and her green eyes were shooting daggers. She looked angrily at Keith, and much to Reid's surprise, he looked afraid. _

"_Sorry Anna," Keith grimaced, then nodded to his friends to leave. Reid hunched down and started to pick up his books. He saw a stray one and reached to pick it up. Before he could, however, a female hand grabbed it and then handed it to him. Reid looked up and saw that girl that Keith had looked so afraid of. _

"_You're the new guy, right?"_

_Reid gave a half-smile and nodded. "Yeah, I'm Ryan Becker."_

"_I'm Anna Marshall, nice to meet you," _

"_So...that was pretty cool of you," he said hesitantly, referring to how she handled Keith._

_She laughed. "Yeah, well he knows that I can kick his ass. And he's always like this towards new students." _

"_Then I supposed thanks is in order," Reid said, and regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth. He was supposed to be 17; 17 year olds doesn't talk like that. _

"_You know what?" she smiled. "You let me buy you coffee after school and we're even," _

_End Flashback_

Morgan chuckled. "You got into trouble your second day? That's a record Reid, even for you,"

Reid blushed. "Knock it off,"

"So she threatened your bully? That's is actually kinda..." JJ paused. "You. Sorry,"

Reid was about to answer her when his phone rang. He checked the I.D, and felt his heart race when he saw that it was Anna's cellhpone number. This was odd, she was supposed to be in school. "I'll be back," he mumbled and then went out in the hallway. "Anna?"

"Spence,"

Reid frowned. Was she crying? "Anna, what's wrong? Why're you crying?"

"I think I'm gonna..." she cried harder, and Reid felt panic go through him. Anna never cried unless it was something serious. Millions of thoughts ran through his mind, some more terrible than others.

"Anna, take deep breaths. Calm down, sch," Reid coaxed, and after about a minute, Anna was calm enough to talk. "There. Now do you wanna tell me what's wrong?"

Anna took a deep breath before answering. "My parents are getting a divorce,"

Reid was stunned. Her parents had seemed happy when he had met them. But then again, looks could deceive; he knew that better than anyone. "Why?"

"Dad has been having an affair with one of his co-workers," she replied, and Reid could hear tears falling from her eyes. "My brother caught them in the act on dad's office,"

"Oh Anna, I'm so sorry,"

She sniffed. "It's okay, I'm more or less over it. I just wanted to talk to you,"

"That's good. You never have to hesitate to call, you know that,"

She laughed softly. "I know. Look, I've gotta go, I have history class in 3 minutes. I'll see you Saturday?"

Reid chuckled. "Yeah, see you Saturday. Love you,"

"Love you too, bye,"

Reid hung up the phone and then walked back to the others. Both Morgan and JJ looked curiously at him.

"What was that about?" Morgan asked, and Reid sat down behind his desk.

"It was Anna. Her parents are getting a divorce,"

"Oh no," JJ said, her heart going out to the girl.

"Yeah, I feel sorry for her," Morgan said, and Reid shook his head.

"Don't. She'll hit you if you say that to her. She doesn't like people to feel sorry for her,"

"No one does Reid, no one does,"


	5. Chapter 4

A/N: Chapter 4. Sorry it's a bit late guys, but I haven't been feeling well. Hope you enjoy. And also, the next chapter is gonna be the last one unless I do an epilogue.

Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds, only my original characters.

* * *

**Keep holding on**

**Chapter 4**

Reid took a deep breath and adjusted his sunglasses one more time. It was over 80 degrees outside, and Reid wasn't used to the warm Southern weather. When he finally reached the shaded area where the ceremony was being held, he relaxed. Glancing at his watch he was relieved to see that he was right on time.

As he looked around, he saw a lot of parents looking at him when he raised his arm to tuck his hair back. Well, more at his gun than at him, but still. He had chosen to wear a shoulder holster under his jacket instead of wearing his gun on his hip. Hotch had convinced him that it was probably a good idea to bring his badge and gun, and Reid took his boss's advice.

As he walked towards the refreshments table, he could hear people talking about him.

"I heard that he's that FBI agent who was working undercover a few months ago,"

"I wonder who he's here for,"

"I think he's here for the Marshall girl,"

Shaking his head slightly, Reid took a sip of his water. He looked up when a voice rang through the courtyard, announcing that the graduating students were coming out. Reid took his seat, and then everything went white. The tradition for the graduation classes were black suits for the guys and white for the girls. Straining his neck, Reid looked around for Anna, and immediately spotted her. She was kinda hard to miss.

As the ceremony started, Reid looked around for Anna's mom and dad. He spotted them a few seats away. Anna's mom was suspisciously red around her eyes, as if she had been crying, and Reid instantly came to think about the divorce. Before he knew it, the graduation was coming to its end, and the principal was speaking up.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the graduation class of 2003,"

Reid stood up along with everybody else, and applauded the graduates. With grief, Reid was reminded of his own high school graduation. His mother'd had one of her episodes, and couldn't be there. Pushing those sad memories out of his head, he instead moved to that people could walk past him on their way to meet their sons/daughters.

Reid kept himself in the background when he walked up to the graduating class. He had no problem sliding his skinny frame between the groups of hugging people. Then he saw Anna and her parents. Anna was standing with her back towards him, but he could still see how tense she was. When he was a few feet away, it seemed like she somehow noticed that he was there, because she turned around. When she saw him she lit up in a bright smile.

"Spencer!" she exclaimed, and rushed towards him. Once she reached him, she threw her arms around his neck and held on to him tight, as if he could disappear if she didn't hold on tight enough.

"You look great," Reid said, planting a kiss on her cheek. She really did look amazing; the white tailored suit she wore contrasted nicely with her red hair and the green silk camisole she wore underneath brought out her eyes. She was wearing very light and natural make up, something that wasn't usual. Most of the school year, Reid had noticed that either she had on a lot of make up, or none at all.

"Thank you. I'm so glad you could make it,"

Reid laughed. "Off course. Hotch nearly pushed me out of the office, he thinks I should take more time off,"

"Anna! Spencer!" a voice was heard, and when the couple turned around, they saw Erica and Joachim walking towards them. Erica looked like a pixie in her white dress, and Joachim was clearly uncomfortable in his suit.

"Hi," Joachim said when they had reached their friends.

"Hey," Reid replied. "Congrats on your graduation," he said to both of them, and Erica smiled.

"Thanks,"

"I'm lucky I got to graduate, man" Joachim said, and Reid frowned. "I was nearly failing math," he explained.

"Until I tutored you," Anna said, teasingly punching his arm.

"Anna dear, do you want to ride with us or with Spencer home?" Anna's mom asked softly, and Anna looked at her.

"With Spence, mom," then she turned back to the others. "I'll see you tonight?" she addressed Erica and Joachim, who nodded. "Let's go," she grabbed Reid's hand and they started to walk towards his rental car.

As they drove over to Anna's house, she didn't notice that while she was talking happily about the summer, Reid was mostly sitting quiet. His knuckles where white on the steering wheel.

"Hey," she said, stroking his knuckles gently. "Why're you so quiet?"

He briefly looked at her before returning his gaze to the road. "I'm just a bit nervous, you know. Nearly all your relatives are gonna be there, and I don't mix well with others,"

Anna gave a small smile. "You're gonna be just fine. They'll love you,"

Reid responded by grabbing her hand and kissing it.

"Besides," she added with a grin. "I haven't shown you my room yet."

"You finished with that?" Anna asked Reid as she walked up to him.

"Yeah, sure," he replied and handed her his nearly full champagne glass. "Family's getting too much for you?"

She nodded as she swept back the glass. "They're all pretending that we're all just a big happy family, especially dad." She sighed.

"It's gonna be okay," Reid comforted her, pulling her close to him and kissing the top of her head.

"I hope so," she sighed. "How did you deal with your father walking out on you?"

Reid thought about it before he answered. "I never really had time to deal with it; I had school, and taking care of my mom."

"I'm sorry you had to go through that," she said, squeezing his hand.

Reod gave a half smile. "Don't be. What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger, right."

"True my friend, true." She ssaid, and then looked up at the clock. "I'm supposed to meet a few friends over at the bowling alley in 30 minutes, I'm guessing you want to join us?"

Reid smiled, big this time. "Off course. I just wanna stop and leave my gun first,"

"That's okay, I gotta change anyway. Come on," with a cheeky grin on her lips, she looked around before making a dash for the stairs, dragging a mildly surprised Reid behind her.


	6. Chapter 5

A/N: Chapter 5, probably the last chapter. I'm gonna post an epilogue sometime next week. I'm sorry if the French in this chapter isn't grammatically correct, I used an online translator since I don't speak French. Hope you enjoy :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds, only my original characters.

* * *

**Keep Holding on**

Chapter 5

"Morning," Anna smiled as she woke up next to her boyfriend.

"Morning," Reid replied and gave her a soft kiss. They had flown back to D.C the day before, and today Anna was coming with Reid to the BAU.

"Have I ever told you that I love waking up next to you?" She tenderly stroked his cheek.

"No, but feel free to tell me whenever you want," Reid smirked, and Anna chuckled.

"I love waking up next to you,"

Reid smiled and pulled her close, placing a kiss to her mouth. Soon they were engaged in a heavy make out session. Suddenly, Reid got a fearful look on his face. "Oh no,"

Anna frowned. "What?"

"We were supposed to be at work nearly an hour ago!"

After that, the next 15 minutes were a daze. Both Anna and Reid hurried up, showered and then nearly ran down to his car.

"Can't you just tell them we overslept?" Anna suggested as they drove towards Quantico.

Reid shook his head. "They won't buy it. I never oversleep,"

* * *

"That's weird,"

JJ looked up when she heard Morgan's voice. "What's weird?"

Morgan pointed at Reid's desk, which was empty. "He's always the first one in,"

"Maybe he overslept," JJ suggested, but Morgan shook his head.

"Reid doesn't oversleep. He has like 3 alarm clocks, there's no way he's overslept,"

Right then, Hotch walked by. He too stopped at Reid's desk. "Reid's not in yet?" Morgan shook his head.

"Maybe he overslept," JJ said, and Hotch looked at her.

"Reid doesn't oversleep," he replied, and with a hint of a smile he disappeared into his office.

"Hey, what's going on?" Garcia had come out from her office, and was now looking at the two agents.

"Reid's not here," Morgan said. "JJ thinks he overslept."

Garcia laughed. "Honey, Reid doesn't..."

"Oversleep, I know," JJ exclaimed, rolling her eyes.

"Sorry we're late, the car wouldn't start," came Reid's voice, and three heads turned in his direction. Reid was standing there, next to a smiling Anna. No one could ignore the fact that their hair was damp, and that both were looking slightly flustered.

"Uh huh," Morgan said, looking doubtfully at them, and Reid's face turned slightly red.

Anna smiled at Morgan. "I hope you haven't given my guy a hard time Derek,"

Morgan laughed. "Who, me? Never,"

JJ smiled at Anna and extended her hand. "Hi, I'm Jennifer Jareau, but you can call me JJ. Everyone does,"

Anna smiled at the older woman, and shook her hand. "I'm Anna Marshall. Nice to meet you,"

JJ might not have been a profiler, but she could see that Anna was good for Reid. He smiled more than JJ had seen him do in the few months she had known him, and he seemed more relaxed.

"Are you going to start college here in D.C?" Garcia asked, and Anna nodded.

"Yeah, I'm going to Georgetown University," she replied and draped an arm around Reid's waist.

"Have you chosen a major yet?"

Anna nodded again. "Yes, I'm majoring in English and minoring in French,"

Garcia lit up in a smile. "Enfin j'aurai quelqu'un pour parler français à. Aucune des autres ne sait le français," (Finally I'll have someone to speak French to. None of the others knows French)

Anna chuckled. "Dites-moi à son sujet! J'ai essayé d'enseigner le français de Spencer, mais sa prononciation était terrible. J'ai peur qu'il soit seulement un génie en anglais," (Tell me about it! I tried to teach Spencer French, but his pronunciation was terrible. I'm afraid he is only a genius in English)

Garcia laughed. "Vous ne pouvez pas être mieux dedans le tout. Regardez-les, ils n'ont pas un indice de ce que nous disons" (You can't be the best in everything. Look at them, they don't have a clue of what we are saying)

Morgan, JJ and Reid indeed stood with puzzled faces, looking at the French speaking pair.

"You wanna fill us in baby-girl?" Morgan asked Garcia, who laughed.

"Not gonna happen mon dieu de chocolat," (My chocolate God)

"What do you say we all go out for lunch?" JJ suggested, and the others agreed.

"I'll go ask Hotch," Morgan said and walked up to his boss's office.

"Come in," Hotch said as a knock sounded on his door, and he looked up when Morgan poked his head in.

"Hotch, we're going out for lunch, you coming?"

Hotch looked up at the younger agent and nodded. "Sure, I'll be out in a minute."

"He's in," Morgan said as he re-joined the others. "So, where do you wanna eat?"

"How about Chinese?" Garcia suggested, but Reid shook his head.

"No way,"

"Why not?" Anna asked, looking bewildered at Morgan as he laughed.

"Young Dr. Reid can't handle chopsticks,"

Anna looked amazed at Reid as she stifled a giggle. "You don't know how to use chopsticks?"

Reid sighed, looking slightly embarrassed but still amused. "I know how to use them in theory, but not in practice."

Anna giggled openly and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Come on Dr. Reid, I'll teach you how to use the sticks," they walked ahead, and Garcia was the first one to speak when the couple had disappeared.

"Is it just me, or did it just get really hot in here?"


	7. Epilogue

A/N: I'm sorry for keeping you waiting for an update, but I've been really busy all week. This is the epilogue, and then this story is finished. It's been great writing it, and hearing your kind review. Anywho, on with the show :) Please review.

Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds, only my original characters.

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**Keep**** Holding on**

Epilogue

--3 years later--

Reid's ribs hurt. He wouldn't admit it to Hotch though, it would only make the older agent feel guilty. Guilty was what Reid should be feeling. He had just killed someone. His talk with Gideon floated in and out of his mind.

"Reid,"

Reid looked up when he he heard Elle's voice. "What?"

"You okay? You're awfully quiet,"

"I'm just tired," Reid defended himself, and looked down when Elle's eyes met his. He wasn't a good liar, and he knew it.

"You can sleep when you come home. Buckle up,"

Reid fastened his safety belt, and looked out the window as the ground came faster and faster. Ignoring the throbbing pain in his ribs, he clenched his teeth and tried to think about something else.

"Man, I'm beat," Morgan half chuckled as he walked through the airport.

"Me too, I'm gonna sleep like a baby," Elle replied, throwing her long hair over her shoulder.

"Uh, Spence," JJ said, and when Reid looked at her, she pointed towards the exit. Reid followed her gaze, and frowned when he saw who JJ was looking at.

"Anna?"

She looked distressed, and was looking around as if she was looking for someone. She was wearing a lacy camisole and flared jeans over a pair of vans, and a fedora was perched on her red hair. When she saw Reid her eyes got wide.

"Spencer!" she exclaimed, and then started to run towards him. When she reached him, she jumped up, wrapping her legs around his torso and her arms around his neck. "God, you scared me so much."

Reid felt like he would pass out from the pain in his ribs, and gently stroked her back. "Uh, Anna, do you mind, my ribs hurt,"

Anna immediately got down, and looked worried at him. "I'm so sorry. Do they hurt a lot?"

"I can live with it," Reid replied.

"What exactly happened to you?" she asked, carefully tracing her fingers over his black eye.

"I'm afraid that's my fault," came a voice behind them, and Anna turned around.

"Your fault? I don't understand," she frowned, and her expression turned from confusion, to shock when Hotch told her the story. "Hotch, how could you do that?"

"It's okay Anna, I understood what his plan was," Reid said, putting a hand on her shoulder, but she just shook it off. She had never been afraid to stand up to Hotch before, and she wasn't about to start now.

"I did what I had to do," Hotch replied, and Anna sighed.

"You're the boss Hotch. Now, are you done playing kick the Reid so that I can take my boyfriend home?"

"I have to write reports," Reid told his girlfriend. "So I won't be back until later."

"Reid, go home," Hotch said, and the younger agent looked surprised at his boss. "You can do the reports tomorrow."

"Thanks Hotch," Reid said, slightly flustered when Anna took his hand.

"Bye y'all," she smiled, and the young couple walked towards the exit.

"So, we're we going now?" Reid asked when they came out to Anna's old Ford.

"Well, we do have a date tonight; so how about dinner and a movie? Or more like a movie and dinner," Anna suggested, unlocking the car and getting in.

"Sounds good," Reid replied, and Anna smiled at him before starting the engine.

--

"You're such a girl," came the teasing voice three hours later as Reid and Anna left the movie theater.

"Shut up," Anna said, discreetly brushing away tears from the corners of her eyes. "I can't help it; the look on the Phantom's face when Christine gives back the engagement ring was so sad,"

"Well you weren't the only one who thought that," Reid said, looking around him where almost only females with red-rimmed eyes left the movie auditorium.

"Aww, come on Spence. You loved the movie, admit it!"

"I loved the music, that's all," Reid laughed, and Anna wrapped an arm around his waist.

"Yeah right, and Christine's cleavage," she chuckled.

"Off course, I'm a guy aren't I?" Reid teased, and Anna looked up at him.

"Jerk," she said playfully, smacking his arm and walking away from him.

Reid laughed and came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. "I love your cleavage the most," he kissed her cheek, and she smiled.

"You better. Now let's buy something to eat; I'm hungry,"

"Your wish is my command," Reid said, and gave a small bow.

--

"It's not gonna get any better than this, is there?" Anna said softly as she bit into a fried shrimp, not really expecting an answer. They were sitting on Reid's balcony, eating Chinese food. "How's your ribs by the way, any better?" she asked, concern in her voice.

"Yeah, they're a bit better," Reid replied and took a sip of his wine.

"So how are you feeling, really I mean?" she asked, looking at him before reaching out and brushing back a piece of hair from his face.

"It's just bruises, they'll heal," Reid said, his eyes not meeting hers. He knew that's not what she meant.

Anna leaned forwards and took his wine glass from him, placing it on the table before taking his hands in hers. "That's not what I meant and you know it. Come on baby, talk to me."

"I just," he swallowed. "I don't really know how I feel. I should be guilty; I mean, I killed someone. But I'm not,"

"You don't have to feel guilty; you did what you had to do to make sure that everyone got out of that ER alive,"

"Everyone except Dowd,"

Anna stood up and placed herself in Reid's lap, wrapping her arms around him and leaning her head on his shoulder. "I'm here for you. If you wanna talk, or not talk; I'm here for you,"

"I know," Reid replied low and kissed the top of her head. She snuggled up to him more, and closed her eyes when she started to fell sleepy. Reid started to stroke her hair, and continued to stroke her hair until her breath turned steady and rhythmical, a sign that she was asleep.

Putting one arm around her back and the other under her knees, Reid stood up and walked inside, holding the sleepy Anna in his arms like a baby. He gently kicked the balcony door shut behind them, and then walked to their bedroom. He lay her down on the bed and undressed her before putting her warm body into her nightgown. Then he undressed and lay down next to her, snuggling up to her.

"Mmh, love you," she mumbled in her sleep and buried her nose in his chest.

"Love you too," he replied and closed his eyes, letting sleep slowly take him in. Life was definitely good.

**THE END**

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A/N: I have written about 4 chapters on a sequel to my story 'In the arms of the angel', if you're interested in reading it, please say so in a review, cuz' I might not post it if the interest isn't high.


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